Last updated: [EFFECTIVE DATE]
These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a binding agreement between you and [COMPANY LEGAL NAME] ("[PLATFORM NAME]," "we," "us," or "our"), the operator of [SITE URL] and its related services (together, the "Platform"). They govern your access to and use of the Platform.
Please read these Terms carefully. Section 15 (Dispute Resolution; Binding Arbitration; Class-Action Waiver) requires most disputes between you and us to be resolved through individual binding arbitration rather than in court, and waives your right to participate in a class action. You may opt out of arbitration within 30 days as described in that section.
By creating an account, clicking to accept these Terms, or otherwise using the Platform, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Platform.
1. Who may use the Platform
You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract to use the Platform. By using it, you represent that you meet these requirements and that the information you provide is accurate and complete. The Platform is intended for users in the United States; we make no claim that it is appropriate or available for use elsewhere.
2. What the Platform is (and is not)
[PLATFORM NAME] is a marketplace and product-discovery service. We help you find products, compare them, read reviews written through our reviewer program, and follow links to third-party retailers (for example, external online stores) where those products can be purchased.
We are not the seller of the products displayed through outbound retailer links, and we do not process those purchases. When you click a "Buy" or equivalent link, you leave the Platform and transact directly with a third-party retailer under that retailer's own terms and privacy policy. We are not responsible for those retailers, their products, their pricing, their fulfillment, or their conduct. Some outbound links are affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you make a purchase after clicking them; this is disclosed further in Section 6.
Separately, independent sellers may list products through our marketplace. Your dealings with those sellers are governed by these Terms and by the applicable listing; sellers themselves are bound by our Seller Agreement.
3. Your account
To use certain features you must create an account and verify your email address. You are responsible for keeping your login credentials confidential and for all activity that occurs under your account. Notify us promptly at [CONTACT EMAIL] if you suspect unauthorized use. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, that we reasonably believe were created with false information, or that are used for fraudulent or abusive activity.
4. Reviews and the reviewer program
Reviews on the Platform are written through our reviewer program. Reviewers receive a product at no ultimate cost in exchange for writing an honest review, and are never paid for writing a positive one. Because every review is written under this arrangement, the Platform discloses that connection clearly and conspicuously alongside the reviews, consistent with the Federal Trade Commission's Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255) and Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (16 CFR Part 465).
If you participate as a reviewer, your participation is also governed by the Reviewer Agreement and by the offer-specific terms you accept before each review. You agree that you will not submit a review that is false, that misrepresents your actual experience, that you were paid to make positive, or that concerns a product you did not actually receive and use. Creating, selling, or disseminating fake or deceptive reviews is prohibited and may be unlawful.
5. User content
"User Content" means anything you submit to the Platform, including reviews, photos, videos, ratings, and messages. You retain ownership of your User Content. You grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable license to host, store, reproduce, modify (for formatting), publish, and display your User Content in connection with operating and promoting the Platform. This license ends when you delete the User Content, except that (a) we may retain archived copies as required by law or our records policies, and (b) reviews displayed publicly may remain available to others who relied on them, in line with FTC guidance against selectively suppressing reviews.
You represent that you own or have the rights to your User Content, that it is accurate, and that it does not violate these Terms or any law or third-party right. We may remove User Content that we reasonably believe violates these Terms, but we are not obligated to monitor User Content and are not responsible for it.
6. Paid placement and affiliate disclosure
Seller payments affect ranking. How products are ranked, ordered, and made visible on the Platform - including in category and search results - is influenced by amounts sellers pay. A product can appear higher because its seller pays more. This applies to the general product ordering, not only to a separate advertising area. Paid placement affects where and how prominently a product appears; it does not change the content of any review.
How we label it. Where a product's position is boosted because its seller pays for placement, we mark that product with a visible "Sponsored" label so you can tell paid placement from unpaid results. Products that are not paying for placement are ordered by neutral factors such as relevance, ratings, and engagement, and carry no such label. The label reflects that the seller pays for prominence; it does not mean we endorse the product or that its reviews are paid for.
Affiliate links. Some outbound links to third-party retailers are affiliate links, and some sellers pay us a fee based on clicks their listings receive. If you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the retailer at no additional cost to you. None of this influences the content of any review.
We provide these disclosures to comply with the Federal Trade Commission's Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255). The commercial terms of these programs are set out in our Seller Agreement.
7. Prohibited conduct
You agree not to:
- use the Platform for any unlawful, fraudulent, or deceptive purpose;
- submit false, misleading, or incentivized reviews except as expressly permitted by the reviewer program, or attempt to manipulate ratings or reviews;
- impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation;
- upload content that is defamatory, obscene, harassing, hateful, or that infringes another's intellectual property or privacy;
- introduce malware, scrape the Platform other than as permitted by our robots.txt, circumvent security, or place unreasonable load on our infrastructure;
- collect or harvest personal information about other users;
- attempt to identify, contact, or coordinate with a reviewer or seller in violation of the program rules that keep reviewer participation anonymous.
8. Intellectual property
The Platform, including its text, graphics, logos, and software, is owned by [COMPANY LEGAL NAME] or its licensors and is protected by intellectual-property laws. We grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Platform for its intended personal, non-commercial purpose. All rights not expressly granted are reserved. "[PLATFORM NAME]" and our logos are our trademarks and may not be used without our prior written permission.
9. Copyright and DMCA
We respect intellectual-property rights and respond to notices of alleged infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If you believe content on the Platform infringes your copyright, send a notice with the information required by 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3) to [CONTACT EMAIL]. We may remove allegedly infringing content and terminate repeat infringers.
10. Third-party retailers, sellers, and links
The Platform contains links to and information about third-party retailers and independent sellers. We do not control them and are not responsible for their products, content, pricing, availability, or practices. Any transaction you enter into with a third-party retailer or seller is solely between you and them. We are not a party to those transactions and disclaim liability arising from them to the fullest extent permitted by law.
11. Disclaimers
THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE PLATFORM WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, THAT INFORMATION (INCLUDING PRICING SHOWN FOR THIRD-PARTY RETAILERS) IS ACCURATE OR CURRENT, OR THAT ANY PRODUCT WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
12. Limitation of liability
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, [COMPANY LEGAL NAME] AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE PLATFORM WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US, IF ANY, IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100). SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN LIMITATIONS, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
13. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless [COMPANY LEGAL NAME] and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of your use of the Platform, your User Content, or your violation of these Terms or any law or third-party right.
14. Termination
You may stop using the Platform at any time and may delete your account. We may suspend or terminate your access at any time if you violate these Terms or for any lawful reason. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 5, 8, 11-15) will survive.
15. Dispute resolution; binding arbitration; class-action waiver
Please read this section carefully. It affects your legal rights.
15.1 Informal resolution first. Before starting an arbitration, you agree to contact us at [CONTACT EMAIL] with a written description of your dispute and your contact information, and to give us 60 days to resolve it informally. Most disputes can be resolved this way.
15.2 Binding arbitration. If we cannot resolve a dispute informally, you and we agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Platform will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules then in effect, rather than in court, except as provided below. The arbitrator will have exclusive authority to resolve threshold questions of arbitrability. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court with jurisdiction.
15.3 Class-action waiver. You and we agree that each may bring claims against the other only in an individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class, collective, or representative proceeding. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims or preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding.
15.4 Small-claims and IP carve-outs. Either party may bring an individual claim in small-claims court if it qualifies. Either party may also seek injunctive relief in court to protect its intellectual-property rights.
15.5 30-day right to opt out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement within 30 days after first accepting these Terms by sending written notice to [CONTACT EMAIL] or [MAILING ADDRESS] stating your name, the email on your account, and that you opt out of arbitration. Opting out does not affect any other part of these Terms.
15.6 Severability. If the class-action waiver is found unenforceable as to a particular claim, that claim will be severed and heard in court, but the rest of this Section 15 will remain in effect.
16. Governing law
These Terms are governed by the Federal Arbitration Act and, to the extent state law applies, by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Subject to Section 15, the state and federal courts located in Delaware will have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute not subject to arbitration.
17. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will post the updated Terms with a new "Last updated" date and, where required, ask you to accept them again before you continue using affected features. Your continued use after an update means you accept the revised Terms.
18. Miscellaneous
These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any program-specific terms you accept, are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Platform. If any provision is found unenforceable, the rest will remain in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. We are not liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control. Notices to you may be sent to the email on your account; notices to us must be sent to [CONTACT EMAIL].
19. Contact
[COMPANY LEGAL NAME]
[MAILING ADDRESS]
[CONTACT EMAIL]